Current network and communications technologies, such as machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies and the Internet, allow devices to communicate more directly with each other using wired and wireless communications systems. M2M technologies in particular enable further realization of the Internet of Things (IoT), a system of uniquely identifiable objects and virtual representations of such objects that communicate with each other and over a network, such as the Internet. IoT may facilitate communication with even mundane everyday objects, such as products in a grocery store or appliances in a home, and thereby reduce costs and waste by improving knowledge of such objects. For example, stores may maintain very precise inventory data by being able to communicate with, or obtain data from, objects that may be in inventory or may have been sold.
As with any network having numerous entities, devices, etc., that may perform similar functions, balancing traffic between such entities where possible is important to manage the utilization of available bandwidth and entity resources. For example, where there are multiple paths between two entities, it may be desirable to spread traffic between the two entities so that one or some subset of the multiple paths does not become overloaded. Similarly, where there are multiple entities that are capable of providing the same surface, it may be desirable to spread requests for that service across the multiple entities so that one or a subset of the multiple entities does not become overloaded.